In general, before you hire someone to care for your child/ children, talk/ interview them face to face or over the phone to get a feel for:

Essence, what type of person they are.  Does she have a nurturing spirit?

Experience with children in general.

Education in life and in dealing with children including first-aid and safety courses.

Enthusiasm about life and children.

The basic childcare options are:

Au Pair.  An Au Pair is generally a young girl from a foreign country with basic scant childcare education who works as a nanny of sorts but it's understood that she's just doing this as a temporary waystation on the road of life not as a career, partially to learn about a new culture while earning some money. 

Foreign Au Pairs who enter United States get a J-Visa which allows them to stay and work for 13 months.  They live with the host family, get room and board and a modest pay cheque.  Generally, they don't work more than 45 hours a week.

Baby nurse.  A baby nurse is a licensed nurse in any of the several categories with a pediatric background.  She has been trained to care for newborns, knows emergency medical procedures and teaches parents how to take care
of the child.  They don't do housework.

Babysitter. A babysitter could be a friend,
relative or person you hire in your area to watch your kids here and there when and as required, sometimes while you work, sometimes while you go out at night. 

If your church has a bulletin board, put a help wanted sign there or network with your religious friends to find a good teenage girl or boy to babysit for you. 

Put up an ad on a bulletin board at your local college, preferably either at the nursing school or religious studies school.

Babysitting co-op.  This is where you and
several other local parents who have babies take turns helping each other by babysitting for each other. 

Doula.  A doula helps both the mother and baby adjust to normal life after childbirth.  She's part nurse, part teacher, part housekeeper and part friend.

Governess.  A governess generally has a degree from college which puts her one step above a nanny.  Governesses are generally hired by a family for the full or part-time education of children  at home, a form of home schooling some wealthy families prefer to use rather than
private or public school.  She gets more pay than a nanny.

Housekeeper.  A housekeeper does housework, she's not specifically responsible for the children except to clean and cook meals.

Nanny, either live-in or live-out person who works fulltime with only the domestic tasks of raising children, not responsible specifically for education.

It's wise to ask a nanny if she's been inoculated for the basic diseases like TB and polio and if not, ask her to get them done or pay for it yourself. 

If you work with several or more women raising children, you might be able to convince your boss to set up an onsite daycare center.

For information about state laws and regulations and complaints regarding child care, contact your state department of health and human services which should have a child care office in it or contact your state social services department. 

If you're a low income working mother, you might qualify for financial aid to help with daycare or there might be such a daycare center in your community run by the government for low income and/ or single working parents.